US sees improved China ties
Washington is focused on Beijing’s November Communist Party conclave
With ties between Washington and many close allies strained because of eavesdropping revelations and differences over US policies in the Middle East, the Obama administration can take some comfort from an improvement in ties with China.
A year after China’s President Xi Jinping took over the helm of the country’s ruling Communist Party, senior US officials say they see increased cooperation on a range of issues from climate change to North Korea’s nuclear weapons ambitions. They also regard greater bilateral military contacts as an important safety valve if there are any potential flare-ups.
On the economic front, Washington is focused on China’s November 9-12 Communist Party conclave where Xi’s blueprint for making the world’s second-largest economy more open is expected to be unveiled.
Xi’s administration already has spawned optimism with an agreement to reopen bilateral investment treaty talks and a pilot free trade zone in Shanghai that augurs well for deeper reforms to address Chinese investment and trade barriers. Both could help dent the US$300 billion (HK$2.33 trillion) annual US trade deficit with China.
Xi Jinping is now the first to really embrace China’s role as a ‘great power’ and he’s making foreign policy with a great power mindset
Not all is rosy. Serious fault lines remain over issues that have long vexed the Sino-US relationship, such as human rights. Western experts and Chinese activists are concerned that China’s record on human rights may be worsening under Xi, who became China’s president in March, given there have been crackdowns on lawyers, activists and internet opinion leaders.